Southern California’s Angeles Forest Highway over the San Gabriel Mountains is almost flawlessly smooth. And though construction crews have been bringing this stretch of road to a halt for months, they’re almost done. Get out there before 7:30 a.m. and you’ll enjoy an uninterrupted stretch of fresh black carpet draped over a mountain. Get there later and you’ll have a painful wait through several one-way construction zones. We got up early one recent morning to take the Porsche Cayman GT4 on this route to our desert test facility. We didn’t think Porsche would ever build this car. It’s a Cayman with the 911’s engine for base-911 money: $85,595. Many have heralded this as fratricide. But here’s why the Grand Cayman won’t kill the 911: Not many GT4s will be made, the GT4 is manual only, and 911s sell because they are 911s. The GT4 isn’t quicker than a Cayman GTS at road-legal speeds, but its steering is maybe the best currently available anywhere. The 3.8-liter flat-six out of the Carrera S is humming along, mere inches behind us. In the GT4, it makes 385 horsepower, which is 15 horses shy of what it does in the Carrera S, but 45 more than the Cayman GTS and 35 more than the base 911. Below 5000 rpm, the engine whines and whirs; spin toward the 7600-rpm redline and the pulsing turns into a 10,000 conga-drum jam-o-rama. The six puts out a big 90 decibels at full whack. Don’t worry, though; it’s a pleasant sound, never annoying. Up on the mountain, we’re not at the redline very often. First and second gears are incredibly tall—second is good for nearly 80 mph. That gearing takes a bit of around-town zip out of the GT4. We meas­ured a zero-to-60 time of 4.1 seconds, identical to a manual Cayman GTS we’d previously tested. Beyond 60, though, the GT4 pulls away from the GTS. By 110 mph, it’s a second ahead. In the quarter-mile, the GT4 posts 12.3 seconds at 117 mph. For context, know that a PDK-equipped Carrera S goes through the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 116 mph with the Cayman GTS arriving in 12.5 seconds at 113 mph. But power and performance are just two elements of the GT4’s 911 kinship. The entire front suspension is lifted from the 911 GT3. On the new asphalt, we can detect some understeer. On the skidpad, the GT4 pushes more reliably than the boldly neutral Cayman GTS and has a little less grip, even on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires (1.01 g’s versus 1.04). But the GT4’s chassis eagerness and steering feel are infused with GT3 goodness. At speed, it’s almost as if the electric power steering is completely unassisted. You’re flooded with information about the surface, the tires, and the available grip. Porsche didn’t ruin the ride here, either. Provided you stay away from the sport setting on the PASM dampers, you’ll experience a firm, but spouse-friendly, ride. A few subtle tweaks strengthen the rear end and allow for camber adjustments, but the biggest difference between the GT4’s hindquarters and that of lesser Caymans is seen in the 911-sized rear tires. The increase in front-tire width is not as great as that of the rear rubber and may be one reason why the GT4 understeers more than the Cayman GTS. But the GT4 makes a stronger fashion statement than other Caymans. A new nose houses gaping cooling ducts, the rear end has a small diffuser and a big wing. You sit low in the GT4, especially with the optional ($4730) single-piece seats from the 918 Spyder; they make a graceful entry or exit impossible. Between the seats is a glorious six-speed manual, fitted with Porsche’s short shifter that makes snapping off ridiculously quick gearchanges easy. Hit the sport button and the engine automatically blips the throttle to match revs on downshifts. It’s hard to break the habit of heel-toe downshifting, but the computer makes rev matching easy. With the exception of getting in and out of its seats, the GT4 makes everything easy. It’s the first Cayman that’s an excellent alternative to a base 911.

Porsche doesn’t make yoga pants. At least not yet. What it does make is the Macan, an Audi Q5–based crossover that slots into the lineup below the larger Cayenne. But judging by the reactions of women of a certain age to Porsche’s smallest ute, the Macan might just be the vehicular equivalent of wearing tight black pants in a hot room. The fawning isn’t surprising. Porsche’s newest SUV is a fairly irresistible redo of Audi’s architecture. Aside from the compact size, there is no obvious visual connection to the Q5. Porsche’s designers went to work inside and out, and though our test car lacked a leather-wrapped instrument panel, we didn’t miss it. Alcantara and leatherette seats are standard. Skip the pricey leather options—the basic interior is excellent. Puncturing the bodywork are massive front-end vents that flow enough air to cool a Class 8 truck. A black sticker on the bottom of the doors attempts to slim the visual weight. The actual weight for this Macan S is 4351 pounds. Moving that mass through all four wheels is a 3.0-liter V-6 armed with two turbochargers. Every Macan is turbocharged, even the S. The Macan Turbo’s larger, 3.6-liter engine makes 400 horsepower, while the S gets along with 340. Activate launch control and the Macan S will bolt to 60 in 4.6 seconds. That’s the same zero-to-60 time as a 1986 911 Turbo, the quickest car we tested that year. If you skip the launch protocol, the Macan S is slow to deliver the goods, like the 911 Turbo of yore. Meaningful thrust doesn’t arrive until 4000 rpm, which is apparent in the comparatively long 5-to-60 run of 6.0 seconds. Porsche’s dual-clutch seven-speed automatic shifts immediately, won’t prematurely upshift when your driving gets aggressive, and mechanically links the Macan to the rest of the Porsche family. No need for pricey interior options: the base-level cabin is excellent. The rest of the family might not recognize the Macan’s numb steering, though. From the Cayenne and Panamera through the sports cars, Porsche steering is typically sharp and replete with feel. Those traits skipped this Macan S, but the all-season tires might be to blame (summer tires are a no-cost option). The mild rubber certainly contributed to the weak 0.82 g of skidpad grip and the long 186-foot stops from 70 mph. On stickier rubber, a Macan Turbo managed 0.89 g on the pad and stopped from 70 in 150 feet. A mushy brake pedal might also get the Macan kicked out of the family reunion, and the slight fade is not in keeping with the bloodline. Options are another Porsche tradition, but our test Macan S wasn’t too extravagantly equipped. A base price of $50,895 swelled to $62,230 with the addition of an infotainment package, premium package, Sport Chrono package, Torque Vectoring Plus, and the adjustable air suspension. We could get by with an even more basic Macan, but what do we know? Porsche is having no trouble selling every Macan it can build. Here’s something we do know: If Porsche Design started making yoga pants, it wouldn’t be able to keep those on the shelves, either.

Ever since the Boxster launched 19 years ago, wags have derided Porsche for not fitting the mid-engined car with a 911-grade powerplant, suggesting that the company is afraid to one-up the centerpiece of its lineup. Even Zuffenhausen’s most starry-eyed apologists have lamented the decision time and again. And it’s worth noting that while the House of Ferry trots out the 550 Spyder to tout the Boxster/Cayman’s heritage, the James Dean Deathwagen and its successors—718 RSK, RS60, W-RS, et al—were high-performance racing machines, while the rear-engined 356 stood as the car for the sporting masses. In contrast, the Boxster has spent its career relegated to the same ignominious fate as the 914. Sure, you could buy a 914 with a six-cylinder in the early ’70s, but it was the 1969 model year’s bottom-feeding 911T engine, while the T itself received a power bump. With the Boxster Spyder, Porsche promises amends, having finally stuffed behind the seats the 3.8-liter flat-six from the 911 Carrera S. Still Stunted? Yet the engine is still not as powerful as it is in the 911. Porsche blames the shorter intake manifold required to make the motor fit in a mid-engined application for cutting output from 400 to 375 horsepower. As an engineer said to us in a seeming attempt to absolve Weissach of any responsibility for the power cut, “It detunes itself!” Compared with the Cayman GT4, which shares its engine with the Spyder, the Boxster is not quite as track-oriented. Whereas the GT4 receives the 911 GT3’s front suspension minus the center-lock hubs, the Spyder, essentially, is a Boxster GTS with extra displacement, foofy bodywork, and nylon-strap interior door pulls. The GT4, as is Porsche’s way with its mid-engined hardtops, is rated 10 horsepower higher than the big-bore Boxster. The message? The GT4 is the racier one. The last iteration of the Boxster Spyder featured a fussy, skeletal flibbertigibbet of a roof. The new car’s top is simpler, although it still retains a measure of fiddliness, mainly having to do with the maddening, hidden buttons that release the canvas buttresses from their moorings. It also features a power latch operated by a console-mounted button, which somehow serves to undermine the otherwise-manual unit’s purity. We can’t help thinking that Porsche would’ve done better to ape the honest, magical simplicity of the Mazda Miata’s roof. When stowed, the top is hidden by a large, be-flared aluminum tonneau. The revised rear visually thickens the Spyder and makes the car’s appearance exceptionally color-dependent. In Racing Yellow, the effect works. In silver, the Spyder resembles a stuffy, slab-sided ingot. In Guards Red, the vibe gets a little regrettable as in, “Ach! Fancy Jürgen took his Boxster to ze Pep Jungen!” Because the Spyder trades the GT4’s sizable wing for a stunted ducktail, the front splitter has been shortened slightly to maintain an equitable distribution of downforce. A Beefcake Gestalt The tight Italian roads where we flogged the car make one aware of the sheer size of the modern Boxster. Its stout exhaust note, with programmed-in overrun violence, merely adds to the beefcake gestalt. This Spyder is no light-and-lithe arachnid; it’s more godly hammer than asphalt scalpel. It does, however, remain wholly unperturbed by pavement imperfections, and the newfound power does nothing to make it twitchier. While the base 2.7-liter Boxster is a momentum-oriented machine that demands attention and revs to stay on the pace, the Spyder conspires to steamroll all manner of speed-killing sins with a liberal application of the right foot. On a tight road, leave the slick-shifting six-speed gearbox in second and drive it like a Tesla. If more than engine braking is required, the middle pedal offers confidence-inspiring, repeatable stopping power. Carbon ceramics are an option for the aesthete who simply must have the yellow calipers. In some ways, the Spyder feels like a Johnny-come-lately answer to Ferrari’s 355, a contemporary of the original Boxster. It’s a ripped, rip-roaring muscle machine with an aural fury to match its unerring point-and-squirt dynamics. As if to underscore this, Porsche’s prescribed drive route took us through Modenese countryside. Tossing Swabian grind, blat, and pop at the ancient stone walls and reveling in the echoes felt like sacrilege of the finest order. And with such a tall second gear, there was plenty of Teutonic aural bombast to send ricocheting through towns and into the hills as we wound the Spyder up close to its 7800-rpm redline. The traction and stability nannies allow a sensible modicum of loose-booty playfulness while keeping the car fundamentally oriented toward the next apex. A versatile, predictable bruiser of a thing, this Porsche is. Come up on a hydrocarbon-belching Autobianchi caroming through the curves, find a spot wide enough to pass, depress the accelerator with a modicum of prejudice, and it’s, “Arrivederci, hairhat!” Colin Chapman acolytes may brand us heretics, but in a car as thoroughly modern as the 981-generation Boxster, the 24-pound weight savings engendered by the Spyder’s overly complex top doesn’t seem worth the effort it took to engineer, especially when the standard powered unit is such a joy to use and results in a prettier package. Instead, the treatment merely adds needless complication and affect to a fundamentally excellent vehicle. Driving the Spyder, we realized what we’d very much like is a Boxster GTS 3.8. Before the naturally aspirated flat-six goes the way of the lesser bilby, might you please build us one of those, Porsche?

The Cayenne is a spicy-hot mix of luxury, off-road ability, and sports-car performance—just what you would expect in a Porsche SUV. The base model has a 300-hp V-6; the S makes 420 hp, the GTS makes 440. Both have a twin-turbo V-6. A hybrid also is offered. All models feature eight-speed automatics and all-wheel drive. The Cayenne is easy to hustle around curves and is equally ready for family duty. A stop-sale on 2015-2016 diesel models is in place until further notice due to EPA violations. Porsche has recently stopped selling Cayenne models with diesel engines because they do not comply with U.S. emissions standards. Sales will resume when the company remedies the issue. Read more on the Porsche diesel recalls. The 2016 Porsche Cayenne is available with many engine options, ranging from the base 3.6-liter V6 to a twin-turbocharged V8. A diesel engine is available, and a hybrid model is reviewed separately. Reviewers are impressed by most of the available engines, noting that the Cayenne is astonishingly quick. The base model earns average fuel economy for the class, at an EPA-estimated 19/24 mpg city/highway. However, the diesel model falls short of rivals with its EPA estimate of 20/29 mpg city/highway. Test drivers report the Cayenne has exceptionally agile handling and a comfortable ride. Critics like the Cayenne's interior, which they say features lots of high-end materials and a handsome style. The front seats are comfortable enough for long trips and provide good support when driving around corners, they add. Reviewers write the numerous center stack controls can initially be overwhelming, but are logically arranged and within the driver's reach. They say the infotainment system is easy to use, though it is a little outdated compared to rival's systems. Standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control and the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen, a USB port, Bluetooth and navigation. Optional features include quad-zone automatic climate control, a power sunroof, a rear-seat entertainment system, a Burmester or Bose surround-sound system, satellite radio, HD Radio, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera system

Out of appreciation for the fifth Rennsport Reunion®, Porsche has revealed an exceptional release of the 911 Carrera GTS at the current year’s social affair at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Rennsport Reunion Edition is constrained to 25 units overall and will be sold only in North America. Manufactured by Porsche Exclusive, the Rennsport Reunion Edition is based on the 430 hp 911 Carrera GTS. The limited edition model is painted in the custom shading Fashion Gray. Enriching dark and red decals cover the front hood, the rooftop, and the back decklid. The driver and traveler entryways are adorned with dark and red decals highlighting the PORSCHE logotype. 20-inch Sport Classic wheels painted in polished dark give the Rennsport Reunion Edition an extremely striking appearance. The lower outside trim of the side mirrors and additionally the satellite radio recieving wire are likewise completed in polished dark. LED headlights in Black including PDLS Plus finish the dark accents on the outside. 518925 Inside the 911 Carrera GTS Rennsport Reunion Edition, both the Carbon Fiber dashboard trim over the glove compartment and also the enlightened entryway ledge watches in Carbon Fiber show the exceptional’s assignment model. As a component of the GTS Interior Package, the SportDesign guiding wheel, the entryway board trim, the dashboard trim, the floor mats, and the GTS logo on the headrests are all sewed in Carmine Red. The focal tachometer and the safety belts likewise include this shading. The inside compartment top is emblazoned with the Rennsport Reunion V logo. The extraordinary arrangements fitted by Porsche Exclusive are balanced with a Fashion Gray painted vehicle key and a calfskin key pocket highlighting Carmine Red intonations and “911 Carrera GTS Rennsport Reunion Edition” lettering. Accessible only with a manual transmission, the 911 Carrera GTS Rennsport Reunion Edition is propelled by a 430 hp 3.8 liter flat six motor, fit for pushing the machine from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and onto a top whack of 190 mph. 518923 Other standard elements on the edition incorporate 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats Plus, PASM Sport Suspension, a Bose® Audio Package, and Rear Park Assist. The MSRP for the 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Rennsport Reunion Edition, which goes at a bargain promptly, is $148,335, excluding the $995 destination charge.